Southeastern named to President's Honor Roll for service for fourth consecutive year

HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University has been recognized for its spirit of community
service by being named to a national honors list for the fourth consecutive year.

The university was listed again this year on the President's Higher Education Honor
Roll for Community Service, which recognizes institutions that reflect the values
of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities.

The honor cites the work of more than 4,500 Southeastern students who provided approximately
120,000 hours of voluntary service to national and area non-profit agencies and other
organizations. The estimated value of this work is $2.8 million.

"Southeastern is proud to again be listed on the national President's Higher Education
Honor Roll for Community Service," said Southeastern President John L. Crain. "Southeastern's
community of students, faculty and staff have a strong history of service and have
consistently demonstrated a spirit of volunteerism. Their willingness to give back
to the communities in which we live and work is evident and is highly valued."

Tena Golding, director of the Center for Faculty Excellence, which oversees service-learning
projects at the university, said the culture of service at Southeastern is evident
in the growth of student-led projects.

"The Big Event, a Student Government Association-sponsored initiative, recently completed
its third service day, attracting about 600 students who worked in the area, doing
painting, landscaping, trash pickup and other jobs," she said, "while teacher candidates
tutored hundreds of at-risk students through programs like the After School Achievement
Program, Project Step Up and Reach Out and Read."

This year, Golding added, a student food pantry was established with funds from the
university's inaugural student philanthropy project following a recent survey that
revealed 60 percent of students had dealt with food insecurity or know someone on
campus who had.

Southeastern students also created and implemented an awareness and recruitment campaign
in conjunction with "Be the Match," a national bone marrow donor program. The program,
called "Swabbin' 4 Robin," was created in honor and support for "Good Morning America"
anchor and 1983 Southeastern graduate Robin Roberts. Roberts underwent a bone marrow
transplant to treat myelodysplastic syndrome, a disease known as pre-leukemia. The
"Swabbin'" name also refers to the DNA collection method that requires a simple, painless
cheek swab.

The campaign educated the campus and public about the need for potential donors as
well as the donation process, ensuring that swabbed participants would be strongly
committed potential donors. Approximately 200 Southeastern students volunteered 600
hours of service and 30 faculty members contributed 120 hours of service to the "Swabbin'
4 Robin" campaign. Their efforts resulted in the collection of 500 swabbed samples
for the "Be the Match" national bone marrow database.

The university was recognized for both its community service activities – general
service projects not linked to any specific course work – and its service-learning
projects.

Golding explained that service-learning projects are integrated with academic courses
and strongly tied to course objectives. Through service-learning, the academic theories
and principles of the classroom are used in real world applications.

"Community service projects and service-learning are both highly valuable and commendable,"
she said. "Both contribute to helping students become motivated, experienced leaders
and citizens who are cognizant of society's needs.

According to Southeastern's report, in 2012-13, service-learning activities were incorporated
into 71 academic course sections involving more than 2,400 students.

The report also noted contributions of Southeastern faculty and staff members who
logged almost 12,000 hours of service, and participated in campus-wide fundraising
campaigns for organizations such as the United Way, the American Cancer Society and
the American Heart Association.

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